The Tomato War
by KurayamiMitsukai
Summary: When the group returns to Palmacosta, Neil has some shocking news for Kratos and Lloyd...


Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at a story like this. I thought of this idea on my walk home. Please forgive me if there is any OCness (esp. Yuan because I have never included him in my stories before).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any of the characters.

PS - in case you were wondering, the reason why I know that Lloyd hates tomatoes is because I saw a skit (I forget when and where) where Lloyd complains about tomatoes.

* * *

The sun was emitting its golden rays onto the land, birds were chirping their greetings, flowers were blossoming in brilliant radiant colors, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Lloyd Irving walked across the lush green field just outside the town of Palmacoasta to the party - made up of his closest friends, and took a seat on the soft grass. He looked over the horizon and saw an endless blue ocean. He sighed and smiled. Lloyd loved his life: he had the best friends anyone could ever wish for, he got to go on a once-in-a-life-time journey of world regeneration, had a father who loves him and taught him all the dwarven vows (even if he did hate some of them), and he was a powerful twin-blade swordsman. But even the person with the best life in the world could still hate something, and Lloyd did hate one thing: tomatoes. Just the mere thought of the bright red, squishy fruit made him shiver. Lloyd had no idea as to why he hated tomatoes so much he just…did.

"Lloyd? Are you okay?" inquired Colette. Lloyd shook his head and found Colette waving her hand in his face.

"Huh? What?" Lloyd asked, puzzled.

"You didn't give a reply to anyone's statements and you were staring off into space," Colette answered.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. Why are we going to Palmacoasta anyways, Professor?"

"Honestly Lloyd!" Raine shouted. "We're going to Palmacoasta because we got a message from Neil saying that we should come as soon as we can…you really do have the attention span of a three year old." She muttered under her breath.

"Why are we all waiting here?" Genis asked. "Let's go!" And without a moment's hesitation, the party walked through the gates that lead to Palmacoasta. As everyone headed towards the governor building, Lloyd noticed an abnormal amount of tomatoes lining the walls of the houses sitting in barrels.

"What's with all the tomatoes?" Lloyd asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"I haven't a clue," replied Raine. "We can ask Neil when we get there." Now Kratos, who had recently rejoined the party, also began to feel uneasy at the sight of all the tomatoes. He could recall the incident, which had caused him to dislike the red fruit so much:

Begin Flashback

The sun was shining over a small village packed with brick houses. Out of one of them, came a young boy with wild, spiky, red hair that wouldn't lie flat no matter what you did to it. A bizarre looking greenish hawk was seen accompanying the small boy as he walked out towards the small beach that was just next to the village. "C'mon Noishe!" the young boy called as he broke into a run. Noishe only replied with a shrill squawk as he flapped his wings and sped closer towards the beach. "Where is he?" a blue-haired boy questioned out loud. He had begun pacing on the sand when he saw a small red coming closer and closer. "…that must be Kratos."

"Hey guys!" Kratos called out, panting. "Sorry I'm late!" When Kratos finally reached the beach, he slumped over on the beach - gasping for breath, but smiling.

"Did you bring the tomatoes?" the blue-haired boy calmly asked. Still panting, Kratos got up to his feet and grinned, as he pulled out a bright red tomato from his backpack.

"At least you remembered to bring the tomatoes," a blonde boy asked. "Yuan, did you bring the slingshots?" he asked, a sly grin on his face.

"How could I forget them!" Yuan called out as he reached into his backpack for the four slingshots. "They're the most important part of our game!"

"Mithos?" A green-haired girl asked, directing it to her blonde brother. "What kind of game are we playing? You didn't mention a game when we left the house. You only said that we were going to meet Kratos and Yuan at the beach."

"Eh, don't worry Martel!" Mithos said. "Just have fun!"

"Let's start the game already!" Kratos cried, fidgeting with impatience. And so, the game had begun. Kratos and Yuan were using the slingshots to fire tomatoes at Martel and Mithos who were giggling as they ran around the beach, dodging the flying fruit.

"Kratos!" Yuan suddenly burst out. "Is that anyway to hold a slingshot? No wonder you didn't hit them!" Kratos turned red.

"Who says that the way you hold it is the only way? I can fire tomatoes just as efficiently as you!" Kratos growled as he glared at Yuan, who glared right back.

"Is it just me, or can you actually see red sparks flying between Kratos' and Yuan's eyes?" Martel asked. Mithos sighed.

"Don't worry about it…that's how you can tell that they're getting along," Mithos answered.

"Ha!" Yuan shouted. "You blinked first! I am the winner!"

"No, you were the one who blinked first!" Kratos shouted right back.

"Just admit that you lost." Kratos' rage had reached its boiling point. He grabbed a tomato and fired it, aiming directly at Yuan's face. "Arrgghhhh!" Yuan wiped the tomato off his face and reached for a tomato, firing it directly into Kratos' eyes. Noishe squawked a disturbing shriek, as if in pain.

"…That's not good news," Yuan said as Noishe continued to squawk.

"How so?" Mithos casually asked.

"Well, my experience with Noishe is that when something bad is going to happen or something he dislikes, he'll start making cries such as the ones you hear now or…simply run away like a coward." Yuan replied as Kratos began to run around in circles. "K-Kratos! What are you doing?"

"IT BURNS! IT BURNS!" Kratos yelled as he continued to run.

"Kratos, calm down!" Martel said as she tried to reason with him. "You'll spread the tomato juice around your eyes even more! …Kratos! Look out!" But it was too late – Martel watched in horror as Kratos ran straight into a tree, causing a beehive to topple onto his spiky hair.

"This isn't good…" Yuan made a face…he hated to think about what was to come. Beehives, angry bees, and Kratos? No good could ever come from such a combination. And Yuan was right – in a moment, screaming could be heard as Kratos was running and being stung by angry bees at the same time, causing him to run into the ocean, finally shaking the bees off. His three friends ran to him, full of worry.

"Kratos…are you alright?" Martel gently asked as she pulled the beehive off of Kratos' head. She involuntarily gasped at the shocking sight that was his face – small reddish bumps were in random places (as if he had a really bad case of acne) and his cheeks were beginning to swell up like a balloon. Yuan and Mithos were speechless. Just then, a barely audible sound could be heard emitting from his mouth. "Listen! Kratos is trying to say something!"

"N-n-never… again," he stuttered, eyes as large as saucers.

"Never again?" Mithos asked, puzzled.

"N-never a-gain… will I touch another tomato!" Kratos cried.

End Flashback

Kratos shivered. Just the mere thought of the incident made him involuntarily start shivering. "Kratos?" Colette asked. "Are you cold? You're starting to shiver…"

"I'm fine," Kratos said calmly," I was just thinking." When the party reached the government building, Raine knocked on the door and was greeted by a very cheerful Neil.

"Welcome back, everyone!" Neil cried. "As you all know, I have sent you a message requesting that you all arrive as soon as you can… the reason is…" Neil paused for dramatic effect.

"Tell us already!" Lloyd suddenly shouted due his lack of patience.

"As I was saying, the reason is that we're having… A TOMATO FIGHT!" Neil proudly proclaimed. Kratos' eyes widened and tried not to say anything as the horrid memory began to play in his mind. Lloyd's mouth stood agape, was about to protest but was too shocked to say anything.

When Lloyd finally gathered his thoughts, he managed to say:" A t-tomato fight?"

"Yeah! People running around flinging tomatoes at each other, won't it be great?" Neil asked. Kratos flinched.

_Of all the things!_ Kratos thought. _Of all the things they could throw at one another... and they choose tomatoes!_

Colette, who noticed Lloyd's shock, said, "Lloyd? Are you alright?"

"Are you sure it can't be a turnip fight? Or even a cake fight! Anything but tomatoes!" Lloyd screamed at the top of his lungs. Everyone stared at him.

"Isn't a tomato fight an extreme waste of food?" Kratos remarked as he walked over to Lloyd and put his hand on his shoulder. "Lloyd obviously thinks so, don't you?" Kratos winked. He was hoping that by pointing out this small tidbit of information, he would be spared from touching the tomatoes. After all, the party would be suspicious as to why he was so afraid of the fruit and he didn't want to explain that he was a 4,000-year-old seraphim of Cruxis (which I am pretty sure is a very long and complicated story).

"Uh…yeah! That's it!" cried Lloyd. "Just think of all the starving people in the less fortunate towns! Like…the slums of Meltokio! They don't have much to eat, so why should we be wasting food?"

"Hey!" Zelos cried, clearly offended by the Meltokio comment.

"But this year, we have so many tomatoes that they would rot and go to waste! So I thought that we could have some fun with them! Not using them and letting them go to waste would be far worse than using the surplus of tomatoes for fun! That way, we get the maximum use out of them," Neil said. Sheena nodded.

"I think Neil's right. If there are so many tomatoes that the townspeople couldn't possibly finish them all before they expire, then we should have a tomato fight!" Sheena cried. She had done it. She had gotten everyone so excited that no matter what anyone said, their minds couldn't and wouldn't be changed – they were going to have a tomato fight.

That night, Lloyd had a hard time sleeping. The very next day at 8:00am, the tomato fight would start and he would be covered in the horridly disgusting red fruit. However, his fatigue caught up with him and put him to sleep. Lloyd had a dream: in his dream, a large tomato was chasing him and he didn't have his sword. Not only that, but the tomato was trying to devour him and he was helpless. Just then, Lloyd tripped and the tomato caught up with him and – "AHHHHHHH!" Lloyd woke up covered in cold sweat. _Had it all been a dream?_ Lloyd wondered to himself. He looked over at the clock. _7:30a.m. I guess that means I have to get up and face my fears…_ Lloyd got up, dressed in his bright red outfit, and stepped out into the sun.

* * *

"Lloyd!" Sheena cried as she saw Lloyd walking down the stairs. "You're gonna be late and miss the whole thing if you don't hurry! Everyone's already waiting for you!" Sheena ran over to where the party and the townspeople were waiting. Lloyd sighed. However, he followed Sheena towards the town square. 

There, waiting for the two were nearly 200 people cheering for long awaited event, an event unknown to Lloyd and the party. As Sheena walked over to her friends, she noticed that Lloyd had begun slowing down. He was so slow, that it seemed as if he had stopped walking altogether. Sighing, Sheena tried to grab Lloyd's arm and pull him over to the rest of the group. "C'mon Lloyd!" Sheena cried as she began to pull on the twin swordsman's sleeve. It was a futile effort… Lloyd just wouldn't budge. Noticing that there was a problem, Genis walked over.

"What's wrong with Lloyd?" Genis asked as he stared at Lloyd.

"I don't know," Sheena replied. "He saw the large pile of tomatoes and he just froze up like this." At that moment, Kratos walked over and began staring at Lloyd.

"What's wrong with Lloyd?" Kratos questioned.

"He froze up after seeing the tomatoes and we can't get him over there," Genis replied pointing to the square where all the cheering people stood. Kratos began to laugh to himself.

_I guess it runs in the family…_ Kratos thought to himself. Noticing that Kratos was laughing to himself, Genis felt complied to ask,

"Are you alright Kratos?"

"I was merely thinking," Kratos replied in his usual calm complexion. "We should probablytake Lloyd to where everyone is waiting…" And so, against Lloyd's will, he was now standing the middle of the town square alongside all of his friends.

"Come to think of it," Colette began when she heard why it took so long for Lloyd and Sheena to come over," Lloyd has never eaten any tomatoes…"

"Yes, that is quite true," Raine added. "Whenever there was any tomatoes at school for lunch, Lloyd would make a huge fuss and insist that he wasn't hungry – which is quite odd considering that Lloyd with place anything in his mouth that is edible."

"I do not!" Lloyd cried angrily.

"Yes you do," Genis coolly remarked. "Like the time when Colette dropped a cookie on the floor and you ate it."

"I was starving!" Lloyd cried as he tried to defend himself. "I didn't get to eat breakfast and –" Lloyd got cut off by the immense amount of cheering coming from the crowd as Neil stepped onto the platform.

"It is with great pleasure," Neil began," To announce the special event that we have been waiting so long for!" Bursts of applaud broke out from the crowd and Neil smiled. "The day when we watch the Chosen's group partake in a tomato fight! The rules are simple but that is to be determined by the Chosen herself!" Colette beamed as she walked past the crowd and got up onto the stage. "Now, just reach into this bag and pull out a slip of paper!" Cautiously, Colette placed her hand into the bag shrouded in mystery and pulled out a single slip of paper. "And the rules are… two against the group! What that means, is that two people from the group will be facing the rest in the fight!" Just then, a blue rheaird came flew over everyone's heads and gracefully landed next to the crowd.

"Yuan!" Lloyd cried. "Yuan? Wait, Yuan's here? Why?" He was clearly confused now. As Lloyd began listing reasons as to why the blue-haired half-elf would be doing here, Kratos calmly strode over to Yuan and pulled him aside for a small chat.

"So, what's the emergency?" Yuan questioned.

"There's a tomato fight and if I have to go through this, you do too!" Kratos remarked smiling at his friend.

"You made me come all the way here from the Renegade Base for this?" Yuan shouted. "For a tomato fight!" Little did Kratos know, while he was arguing with Yuan, Neil was drawing the names that would decide which team which person would be on.

"And the results are in! Team A consists of Kratos and Lloyd! Team B consists of Genis, Raine, Presea, Regal, Colette, Zelos, Sheena, and Yuan!" Neil shouted. Upon hearing his name, Yuan walked over to the stage, his long cape trailing behind him.

"Hold on, what makes you think that I would want to participate in this tomato fight? And what does it mean when you say that I am on 'Team B'? And how did you get my name!" Yuan demanded.

"Well, it simply means that you get to hurl tomatoes at Kratos… and I put your name in there." Lloyd answered as he broke into a hysterical laugh. Yuan grinned a malicious grin at Kratos.

"Well Lloyd," Zelos began. "It does mean that Yuan gets to chuck tomatoes at Kratos, but it also means that _I _get to throw tomatoes at you." Lloyd stopped laughing, now noticing that there was a loophole in his "perfectly designed plan" to get his revenge on Kratos making him look like a fool.

"But that… I mean, that," Lloyd stammered. "That isn't right! Is there anyway we can rearrange the teams?"

"I'm afraid not," Neil answered. "Before we begin, I must explain the rules. Each team will receive about 20 tomatoes each. If you get hit four times with a tomato, you're out. And, there's no point trying to cheat – you'll all be wearing white suits that will show how many times you have been hit. Loosers have to eatthe extra tomatoes that we didn't use!Good luck everyone." As they all began suiting up, Yuan grinned even wider… it was finally time to get revenge on Kratos. As for Kratos, he was sorry he opened his mouth and asked Yuan to come. But while everyone was focusing on thoughts of how they could win, all Lloyd and Kratos could think about was:

"WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE TOMATOES!"

* * *

How will Kratos and Lloyd deal with tomatoes being hurled in their faces? Will Yuan get his revenge? Read the next chapter to find out! 

Please leave a review! It's really quite discouraging when I see many hits (say 70) and only a few reviews.

Hari-Chan


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